Ordinary Life

East coast girl with your sun tanned skin Salt in your hair, kissed by the wind You're wild and free to live and let be Strings let go you'll soar and sink low Follow the river away from the sea  Float the Savannah, back home to me. I once wiped the tears of a young girl's eyes  Real life is tested by whether we cry. Feel and allow it, for though there is pain  A life without contrast is one built in vain. Salt and fresh water, shadow and light  Opposing angles build houses upright I sit in my own house, thinking of you,  little kite tattered, lost in the blue I bottle my question and fling it to sea:  Were sandcastles and kite flying only for me?

 Rye's art & snack session was set up like this.  Look closely at those pencil leads, it will be important later.  Sugar is brainfood...it was a perfectly nutritious snack...stop judgin' me :)  Sprinkles make ya sweet... ...and Sprinkles are inspiring!  Yes...just a shirt & training pants... it's what works for us...  ~Sugar Lips~ Okay, time for the story.  I bought a container of sprinkles in hopes of convincing Riley to broaden her culinary horizons. Currently, she and Buddy the Elf share a similar palate .  Yes, sprinkles are made of sugar too, but if you shake them over, say, Mashed Potatoes or Chicken Nuggets then sugar becomes a lesser ingredient. Especially when compared with most of her current preferred favorites, like "Big Chocolate Cupcake Cookies" (a.k.a. Reese Cups) and Pink Ice Cream.   It isn't an exact science, but it has met with some success.  So, Riley had a little bowl of sprinkles during her art and sna...

HaHa- yes, exactly. 

Everyone had gone to the truck, except Riley and myself. We seem to always be the last two in the car. There are a host of reasons, from finding a lost shoe to re-packing an understocked diaper bag. We've recently added "Load Rye's purse" to that list. That was one of the reasons we were lagging on this day. We took the elevator down one whole flight...18 steps worth of space... to the parking lot ; not because it is faster, rather because it is a safer means of travel for those of us with both hands and a foot full. As we exited the elevator, Riley spied her shadow in a shaft of sunlight. She and her newfound friend commenced a dance promptly.

DIY Laundry Detergent "It's better, cheaper & smells fantastic...MAYBE"  Basically, one of everything pictured ( below) : Washing Soda Borax Baking Soda Grated Pink Zote Soap (or FelzNaptha) Epsom Salts & Scent (or scented softening crystals) (2 boxes equals proper amount) Oxygenated Stain Remover DIY Laundry Detergent Ingredients I will start by saying that my results may be different than the glowing review of the recipe I followed because I used varied ingredients. I am not convinced that any one substitution made would change my overall experience with the results. The substitutions are as follows:  1 Bar of Zote Soap instead of 2. The package looked like 2 bars in one wrapper, so we didn't bring enough home. I don't believe there would be a major difference even if the second bar was added because it seems that this soap doesn't dissolve very well before the washer has started- there are always chunks of it still floating about.  Epsom Salts &...

Riley can reach the make-up drawer now... and she has paid close enough attention to get the general idea.  When all was said and done, I lifted her to the mirror and said "Aren't you pretty?"  She said "I'm a mess!"  Oh, yes.  She is. 

Grammy gave "Lovey" to Riley when she was born. This large, loveable pink pooch has been through various moves and times of storage; as well as plenty of playtime with Rye. Because of all the living and loving evident in Lovey's fur, we recently took him to the local laundromat for a quick, sudsy spin and a fluffy air dry... Riley cheered Lovey on the whole way, Fisher cheered Rye on. Riley and Fisher have similar dispositions towards their stuffed friends-simply put, stuffed animals are real... and the cuter the stuffy, the more in tune with its feelings they seem to be... situations like being put in the washing machine are matters of survival, not just hygiene. It's cute ~until something tragic happens, like a severed limb    (or ear!)    or a spill over of stuffing or something... you would think we'd lost a family member in the trauma unit should something like that occur. (There was a light stuffing leakage on this day and ALL of my kids thought we'd los...

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Sometimes it is kool aid, other times an entire gallon of milk. This time it was the whole pitcher of tea...which I was really looking forward to, but did not resort to lapping from the floor... even though it had just been mopped a few hours prior.

While looking at shoes during our Saturday Evening Outing , Rye found a pair or two that she liked:

Strawberry Milkshake  On Saturday, after spending all day making flowers with the Big Girl , I took Little Girl out to run a few quick errands. And the thing is, they were truly quick errands... we were finished with daylight to spare... so we grabbed a bite to eat and had a make shift Mommy Date:  Sweet Potato Fries in Browned Sugar Butter from Tasty's Little Girl, Big Drink The best time for gazing at this castle (What Rye calls it) ...I mean church, is when the sun begins to sink... even better if you step inside, where all the stained glass glows. A little sriacha mayo & browned sugar butter were all that remained.... ...even the sun was gone by the time we'd finished.  A phone call from home told us that The Bigs were accompanying their dad on a baseball errand, so we didn't hurry home. Rather, we went 'browsing'. It's like shopping, only without spending money ;) Rye picked a pair of shoes out on her own. She tried them on and declared "They Fit!...

Ideally, I would have picked the tomatoes for this soup and stewed them down on a low simmer. I would have caught & plucked the chicken used for broth and set that on another low simmer. Not neglecting to milk my pet cow and a few coconuts too, I would have made sour cream, cocount milk and even the Cheeze-It ™ crackers from scratch. Eventually, finally, bringing it all together in a savory combination in one pot.  This is not an ideal world.  I have four children. (who all want something different for lunch, mind you) I homeschool. (so I know about the dangers of using canned foods, I know!)  I kill plants. (No tomatoes would have likely made it to the picking stage under my care) I don't know that the cow would be that much safer.  If I were close enough to a coconut tree to climb it, I wouldn't be rushing back to the house to make soup... (or climbing it either...but that is another story about how long it has been since I've been in the beloved Keys...and if ...

As I was looking for something 'sentimental' of sorts, to mark my nephew's 5th birthday and to celebrate his mom and dad's 5th anniversary as parents  (Reagan made them parents for the first ~but not last~ time)  I came across this piece on motherhood. It seems to be an excerpt from a mother's day sermon at a church I've never been too. It is a really good thought.  It made me thankful for all the godly mothers I know. It also made me want to encourage those who may not value the calling God has placed on the life of a mother... especially friends and family who are moms but think that it doesn't count as much. I hope you will be encouraged if you are a mom. I hope you will pass this on if you know any other mothers that need to be reminded... or perhaps told for the very first time. And...if you happen to be a father? Well... there's something in there for you too  :) Big Smiles Until We Meet Again